Flint taking a look at pawn shops and scrap yards

The city of Flint may soon propose new regulations on pawn shops and scrap yards.

Flint police chief James Tolbert says he’s concerned about “the crime behind the crime” of burglaries in the city.

He’s looking at a new ordinance for city pawn shops and scrap yards.

“We’re working on a way where we can better monitor what goes in and goes out,” says Tolbert, though he declined to say exactly how that would be done.

Tolbert says he’s also been talking with other Genesee County chiefs of police about the problem.

Flint City Attorney Peter Bade says a regional solution is needed since any local effort would be undermined if criminals could just go to a neighboring town to sell stolen goods.

The Flint Journal reports that law enforcement officials in Genesee County are looking into creating an online database where pawn shops and scrap metal yards would report purchases, though industry officials are dubious.